Listen up and I’ll tell a story about an artist! Now, this artist is not just any old chum with a guitar and a pretty voice. This artist went on to become one of the most influential people to have ever picked up a microphone. He’s been hailed as an inspiration by the likes of Kurt Cobain and Lana Del Rey but, despite his influence and underground acclaim, his work went largely unrecognized by the mainstream music media. This is the sad, true-life story of the outsider artist.

This is, Daniel Dale Johnston.

Daniel Johnston was born on January 22, 1961, in Sacramento, California, to William and Mable Johnston. He grew up in New Cumberland, West Virginia, and was the youngest of five children. Johnston had what most would deem an ideal childhood—spending most of his time playing with friends, drawing, and making short films.

Johnston had numerous hobbies, but the one he truly loved was music. He gained recognition in high school for his music and art skills. His artwork was frequently filled with eyeballs and unique characters he created in his head. His mother was embarrassed about her son being seen as the “kid with the weird eyeball art” so she viewed him as a laughing stock, and often put him down. She required him to attend church services regularly, despite his lack of interest in religion.

After Johnston graduated from high school, his parents sent him to attend a religious university. During his first semester in school, he wasn’t attending his classes regularly and was often found wandering the hallways in a daze, disconnected, and full of energy.

His parents brought him back home, assuming he was just homesick; however, Johnston became depressed and began focusing on his music to cope. The more his mentality declined, the more music he wrote and recorded. He’d simply pop a blank cassette into an old tape recorder, play the songs he wrote, then call that an album.

Johnston worked at McDonald’s and would often drop copies of his albums in his customers’ food bags. 

Eventually, Johnston decided to re-enroll in college at Kent State University. While there, he found his creative muse, Laurie Allan. He grew obsessed with her and she inspired countless songs for him. Unfortunately, Laurie was married which crushed him.

In 1985, Johnston moved to Austin, Texas, where he recorded his most famous album, Hi, How Are You? AKA The Unfinished Album. He called the album unfinished because it was originally supposed to be an hour-long; however, Johnston suffered a mental breakdown in the middle of recording and never fully finished it.

His rise to popularity began after MTV filmed an episode of their show, The Cutting Edge. Johnston simply wandered over to the film crew, they wound up interviewing him and asked him to perform on the show.

His cult following bloomed in the local scene when everyone wanted to know more about the weird little dude with the hand-drawn album covers and recorded tapes. Johnston used his notoriety and began touring nationwide, but his mental illness was crippling him. He started having episodes of psychosis and often became delusional, overtly religious, and believing everyone was possessed by evil spirits.

He once broke down on stage, crying, and singing religious songs, causing his fans to feel confused and uncomfortable. 

Johnston began believing he was a divine religious messenger. His manager, Jeff Tartakov, claims that Johnston abused him with a lead pipe, in an attempt to “cast his evil out.” Soon after, Johnston was arrested in New York, for drawing religious symbols on the Statue of Liberty. He was later hospitalized and diagnosed with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. 

Despite his mental health struggles, Johnston continued touring throughout the late-1980s. He recorded his first professional album, 1990, with producer Mark Kramer. The album was supposed to be titled, 1989, but, due to Johnston’s continued mental health treatments, they had to change the title since it couldn’t be finished in time.

In the early-1990s, Johnston’s fame skyrocketed after Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain wore a t-shirt featuring the artwork from Johnston’s, Hi, How Are You? album. He was offered a recording contract with Elektra records, which stated he’d not be required to tour or promote shows, he just had to make more albums. Johnston almost signed the contract; however, after finding out that the metal band Metallica was signed to the same label, he instantly declined. He believed they were evil and wanted to deal him harm.

In the years and decades to follow, Johnston continued touring and making new music, until his tragic death on September 11, 2019. Johnston was found dead in his home, from a suspected heart attack at 58-years-old. 

Johnston’s death rocked the independent music scene, as many considered him a pioneer of the indie lo-fi sound. The city of Austin, Texas, declared Johnston’s birthday, January 22, as “Hi, How Are You Day” and encouraged its residents to check in on one another asking, “Hi, How Are You?”

In 2005 a documentary film was released titled, The Devil and Daniel Johnston. In 2015 Lana Del Ray and rapper Mac Miller both helped produce a short film about him called, Hi, How Are You, Daniel Johnston. Many artists have paid tribute and covered his music including Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, Tom Waits, David Bowie, Built to Spill, Eels, Modern Baseball, and Pearl Jam.

Johnston’s art has been displayed in art museums, and let me just say ladies and gentlemen, never in my life have I ever seen or heard a more raw and real artist.

Rest in Peace Daniel Johnston, true love will find you in the end.
1961 – 2019.